[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 144 (Monday, August 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6112-S6113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 345--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE 
                     POLITICAL SITUATION IN BELARUS

  Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Portman, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Rubio, 
Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S6112, August 9, 2021, in the second column, the 
following appears: Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
Wicker, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Portman, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Tillis, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. 
Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Finance:
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: Mrs. SHAHEEN (for 
herself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Portman, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


                              S. Res. 345

       Whereas the United States Senate has long maintained strong 
     bipartisan concern regarding the troubling lack of democracy 
     in Belarus, highlighted by the passing of the Belarus 
     Democracy Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-347; 22 U.S.C. 5811 
     note);
       Whereas the 116th Congress, as referenced in H.R. 8438, the 
     Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, 
     and Senate Resolution 658, which both passed with unanimous 
     support, stated its deep concern regarding the fraudulent 
     election in Belarus on August 9, 2020;
       Whereas on September 17, 2020, the Moscow Mechanism of the 
     human dimension of the Organization for Security and 
     Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was invoked by 17 participating 
     states with regard to credible reports of human rights 
     violations before, during, and after the presidential 
     election of August 9, 2020, in Belarus;
       Whereas, following Alyaksandr Lukashenka's inauguration on 
     September 23, 2020, the United States, the European Union, 
     numerous European Union member states, the United Kingdom, 
     and Canada announced they did not recognize the legitimacy of 
     the election results;
       Whereas after the August 9, 2020 presidential election, the 
     Government of Belarus responded to the resulting peaceful 
     protests, the largest in the country's history, with a 
     violent crackdown, including the detention of more than 
     10,000 peaceful protectors, according to the United Nations 
     Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in 
     Belarus;
       Whereas the Government of Belarus, under the misrule of the 
     Lukashenka regime, continues to engage in a pattern of clear 
     and persistent violations of human rights and fundamental 
     freedoms and disrespects the basic principles of democratic 
     governance by subjecting tens of thousands of pro-democracy 
     political activists, peaceful protesters, and ordinary 
     citizens to harassment, beatings, abductions, forced 
     deportations, and imprisonment and by committing acts of 
     transnational repression to punish any dissent expressed by 
     Belarusian citizens;
       Whereas the Lukashenka regime continues to silence 
     independent media, such as Nasha Niva, tut.by, and Belsat, 
     and has unlawfully raided the offices of media outlets, 
     including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and arrested 
     journalists;
       Whereas on September 11, 2020, then-Deputy Secretary of 
     State Stephen Biegun said that ``we stand by our long-term 
     commitment to support the sovereignty of Belarus as well as 
     its territorial integrity, as the aspirations of the 
     Belarusian people to determine their own path remains in 
     front of us'';
       Whereas on May 23, 2021, the Lukashenka regime forced a 
     commercial airliner flying between two European Union member 
     states to land in Minsk in order for the regime to arrest 
     journalist Raman Pratasevich and his partner Sofia Sapega, an 
     action that resulted in near universal condemnation from the 
     international community and coordinated sanctions by the 
     United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union;
       Whereas on May 28, 2021, the White House announced the re-
     imposition of full blocking sanctions against nine Belarusian 
     state-owned enterprises and announced a new Executive order 
     to increase sanctions on elements of the Lukashenka regime;
       Whereas the Lukashenka regime has actively encouraged over 
     4,000 migrants from other countries to cross through Belarus 
     into European Union member state Lithuania, amounting to 
     people smuggling and obliging Lithuania to declare a state of 
     emergency;
       Whereas on June 9, 2021, the Committee on Foreign Relations 
     of the Senate held a hearing regarding the political 
     situation in Belarus, in which United States Ambassador to 
     Belarus Julie Fisher testified that ``Despite the oppression, 
     the violence, and the turmoil that followed the events of the 
     past year provide glimmers of hope. A new generation of brave 
     Belarusians, with courageous women at the front, have 
     emerged. They represent a Belarus determined to

[[Page S6113]]

     chart its own path. They represent a Belarus in which wearing 
     a red and white dress, hanging a flag, or playing a 
     particular song will not result in torture, forced 
     confessions, or even death.'';
       Whereas on July 27, 2021, President Biden met Belarusian 
     opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the White House 
     and declared that ``The United States stands with the people 
     of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human 
     rights.'';
       Whereas on August 9, 2021, President Biden--
       (1) announced an Executive order authorizing the imposition 
     of blocking sanctions on certain sectors of the Belarus 
     economy, including the potash, tobacco products, and 
     construction sectors; and
       (2) pursuant to such executive order and Executive Order 
     13405, issued additional sanctions on Belarusian individuals 
     and entities, including Belaruskali (a state-owned potash 
     fertilizer company) and the Belarus National Olympic 
     Committee; and
       Whereas Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana 
     Tsikhanouskaya continues to represent the widely shared 
     desire of the Belarusian people for free and fair elections 
     and democracy: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) continues, on the first anniversary of the illegitimate 
     presidential election in Belarus on August 9, 2020, to refuse 
     to recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the legitimately 
     elected leader of Belarus;
       (2) condemns Lukashenka's ongoing crackdown on members of 
     the pro-democracy movement, senior members of the 
     Coordination Council, peaceful protesters, employees from 
     state-owned enterprises participating in strikes, independent 
     election observers, independent journalists and bloggers, 
     medical professionals, professors, teachers, athletes, and 
     cultural leaders;
       (3) continues to call for the fulfillment by the Government 
     of Belarus of Belarus' freely undertaken obligations as an 
     Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 
     member and accept the OSCE's offer to facilitate a national 
     dialogue and fully participate in the OSCE process;
       (4) calls for new presidential and parliamentary elections 
     to be held in Belarus, conducted in a manner that is free and 
     fair according to OSCE standards and under the supervision of 
     OSCE observers and independent domestic observers;
       (5) welcomes the United States Government's close 
     coordination with the European Union, the United Kingdom, 
     Canada, other allied and partner countries, and international 
     organizations to promote the principles of democracy, the 
     rule of law, and human rights in Belarus and encourages 
     continued coordination to apply maximal pressure on the 
     Lukashenka regime;
       (6) continues to call for the immediate release, without 
     preconditions, of all political prisoners in Belarus;
       (7) welcomes the recent release of Radio Free Europe/Radio 
     Liberty (RFE/RL) journalists Aleh Hruzdzilovich and Ina 
     Studzinskaya and calls for the unconditional release of all 
     political prisoners and journalists detained on dubious 
     charges, including opposition candidates Sergei Tikhanovsky 
     and Viktar Babaryka, pro-democracy activist Maria 
     Kalesnikava, and RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik;
       (8) condemns the forced diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 to 
     arrest Raman Pratasevich and his partner Sofia Sapega, which 
     violated international civil aviation law and risked the 
     lives of innocent passengers and crew, and calls for their 
     immediate unconditional release;
       (9) commends the bravery of Belarusians who have created 
     innovative ways to protest Lukashenka's autocracy and 
     applauds the Belarusian diaspora's efforts to maintain 
     international focus on the deteriorating political situation;
       (10) lauds the extraordinary support offered by the 
     Governments of Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland to support the 
     people of Belarus, including support for the political 
     opposition, accommodation of political refugees, and backing 
     a free media;
       (11) calls on the Lukashenka regime to immediately halt 
     exploiting and instrumentalizing migrants and to stop 
     directing individuals to Lithuania's borders;
       (12) welcomes the Executive order announced on August 9, 
     2021, that applies additional sanctions on the Lukashenka 
     regime and urges the Biden Administration to consider all 
     economic, political, and diplomatic tools at its disposal to 
     support democracy in Belarus;
       (13) welcomes the European Union sanctions imposed on the 
     Lukashenka regime and urges the United States to continue to 
     coordinate additional measures with the European Union; and
       (14) emphasizes that the United States supports the people 
     of Belarus in their quest to maintain their sovereignty, 
     choose their own leadership, and live in freedom, and 
     recognizes the extensive efforts of the Belarusian opposition 
     to coordinate efforts with the United States, the European 
     Union, the OSCE, and the United Nations to bring free and 
     fair elections to its people.

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